Rate Article:

An electoral reform bill aimed at enhancing the number of women in Morocco's parliament will again be put before parliament after being rejected by the constitutional council, Information Minister Mohammed Achaari has said.

Achaari said on Tuesday that the government has modified the bill and it will be considered by a cabinet meeting presided over by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, before being submitted for a second time to parliament.

"We have not had to draw up a new bill," he said. "We simply have to change some parts to make sure that it agrees with the constitution."

Lawmakers had expressed fears that the constitutional council's rejection of part of the electoral code last week would lead to a postponement of parliamentary elections, due at the end of September, AFP reported.

However, Achaari said he believed that "everything will be ready so that elections can be held as scheduled."

The constitutional council had rejected three elements of the new code as unconstitutional, including the proposed use of a national list of candidates to ensure that ten percent of parliamentary seats are reserved for women.

It also rejected two other clauses, one of which obliged candidates in elections to belong to a political party, and another obliging MPs to resign their seats if they want to run for the Senate. (Albawaba.com)